


Dog and Wolf

by redcandle17



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - Martin
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-04
Updated: 2010-01-04
Packaged: 2017-10-05 19:07:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redcandle17/pseuds/redcandle17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sandor's first impression of Joffrey's little betrothed at Winterfell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dog and Wolf

"Mother told me Father has betrothed me to Lord Stark's daughter Sansa. What do you think of her, dog?"

"Pretty enough," Sandor said dutifully. Sansa Stark was a very pretty child, and she looked like she would be a beautiful woman. If Joff was lucky she'd develop a body like her mother's to go with that pretty face, though thankfully the girl wasn't cold like the Lady Catelyn Stark; her smile was much warmer. But she was a timid little thing. She'd flinched and immediately looked away when he smiled at her a couple of days ago. It would be amusing to see how long it took her to get used to his face.

"Father once said Lyanna Stark was the most beautiful woman in the world. But she's dead. Her niece will be the most beautiful woman and she'll belong to me."

Sansa had the Tully look, not the Stark look, but Sandor didn't point that out to the prince. He could've also told Joff that he'd seen Lyanna Stark once and he hadn't found her worth the trouble she caused, but instead he entertained himself imagining Joff married to the other Stark girl, the one who ran around the stables with horse shit on her skirts and her hair looking like some rat's nest.

Joffrey was annoyed by his lack of response. "Maybe I should find you a wife. One as ugly as you."

Gregor had once tried to betroth him to a rich knight's ugly daughter when he was a squire at Casterly Rock. No doubt he and his wife would have died mysteriously soon after their first child was born, and no doubt Uncle Gregor would have raised the orphan as his own. Sandor had written to the knight telling him he'd heard his daughter was so homely he'd prefer to bed his horse. The knight had broken the betrothal. Someone must have suffered Gregor's rage for it, but Sandor had been safe out of his reach.

"One as ugly as me, Your Grace? Surely your faithful dog deserves a beauty like your own betrothed."

"Mayhaps," Joff allowed. "If a beautiful lady displeases me when I am king, I shall give her to you."

"I'm sure all the ladies will strive to be the Maiden herself when you're king."

"Have you seen the direwolves?" Joffrey asked, as if he thought Sandor had gone blind and deaf since arriving at Winterfell. "Each of the Starks has one, and my betrothed will bring hers with her to court. I think it's fitting. She has a wolf and I have a dog."

"Not quite fitting, Your Grace. The wolf's her family's sigil. You'll need a lion to match her."

Joffrey's brow furrowed. "I'll ask Mother for a lion cub."

Sandor stifled his laughter. Even Cersei wouldn't entertain such a ridiculous idea. The last time a self-styled lion had encountered a real lion, it had not gone well for the Lannister. Of course, it had been his grandfather who'd borne the brunt of the encounter. He should have kept his mouth shut. If by some miracle Joffrey was given a lion, Sandor would end up being the one to keep it from eating him and he'd probably lose some of his parts in the process. He was trying to think of something to distract the boy from this idea of a pet lion when he saw the Stark girl approaching.

She was accompanied by her wolf cub and a girl her own age who seemed unable to stop giggling. Sansa Stark had more decorum than her friend, and curtsied before her betrothed with a smile and only a faint blush on her face to indicate that she had probably been giggling too not so long ago. "Good day, my lord. May I present my friend Jeyne Poole? She's our steward's daughter." The giggling girl curtsied, though not nearly as gracefully as Sansa. Sandor knew Joffrey well enough to know that he was not pleased but the prince greeted the steward's girl courteously enough.

Sansa glanced at Sandor quickly before looking away. "Jeyne, this is Ser Sandor, Prince Joffrey's sworn shield."

Such a well-mannered little thing. Sandor let her call him ser, unable to bring himself to correct her while she was playing the gracious lady. Her friend stared at his face without saying a word, though she paled and raised her hand to her throat. Sandor ignored her. "How old is your wolf, girl?" he asked Sansa.

She looked to the air beside his face when she answered. "My brothers Robb and Jon found Lady and her brothers and sister two months ago."

The animal was twice the size a regular wolf would be at that age, but Sandor was more interested in its name. His mouth twitched as he tried not to smile. A wolf named Lady. He supposed she would have named the wolf Ser if it had been a male. Lady left her mistress's side and came to sniff him. Sandor reached down to pet her. The Stark wolves didn't act any differently from dogs. Before his hand could pat the wolf's head, Sansa called, "Lady," and the wolf went back to her.

The girl seemed to think her wolf's actions necessitated an apology. "I'm sorry, ser."

"She was only doing what wolves do," Sandor replied.

"Lady isn't a _common_ wolf."

Sandor had to laugh. He wondered what the girl would do when her wolf matured in a couple of years and went into heat. The wolf would hardly believe like a _lady_ then.

Joffrey offered her his arm. "My sweet lady, shall we take a walk around the castle walls?"

"Yes, my lord." Sansa Stark smiled as though Joff had suggested crowning her queen right there and then. She took Joff's arm, her friend the steward's daughter forgotten. The future royal couple sauntered away, the direwolf trotting at her mistress's heels. Sandor followed them, several yards behind _his_ master.


End file.
